Enkindled Souls
by WriteForJoy
Summary: A female undead escapes the asylum with the help of Oscar, knight of Astora. Slight differences from canon. M for sexual content. Might update this to be a longer story! Chosen Undead/Oscar pairing featuring some combat, some fluff, some sex, and companionship of course.
1. Chapter 1: The Undead Asylum

1.

In the labyrinth that was the undead asylum, the only sounds that could be heard were the squeaking of rats and the incessant rattling of iron gates. Occasionally an undead would let out a wailing, agonizing moan, but the days were mostly drowned in the stench of rot and depressive, homeless thoughts of the past.

A swarm of flies buzzing near a corpse that shared the same cell with this fresh undead prisoner made her turn her face away and huddle herself closer to the moldy, damp wall for space. When they found out about the darksign on her, she was immediately pulled away from her home and sent to this god-forsaken place to await the end of the world.

Such was her fate.

The hungry, yellow eyes of tiny rats around her only grew in number as days and weeks blurred in her mind. She had stopped counting long ago. Now, the rats waited for her last breath so they could feast on her like how they did the one across her.

They were cunning little animals and she knew what they wanted. The humanity that she possessed was worth thousands of souls at a time like this. Humanity gave her vigor, as well as preventing her from decaying and withering away like the rest of the undead. However, even with such a prize in her possession, she dared not think how long she could stand against this environment; her body may last, but her sanity will break.

Wearily she sought solace in the sunlight showering on her from a hole on the roof above. She knew not how the hole came to be, but was grateful regardless for its existence. Sunlight lifted her spirit whenever she felt in need, but she was still a trapped bird.

The clouds gathered up when suddenly a dark shadow blocked her vision. She startled and shifted her position slightly when a heavy weight dropped from the hole and smashed into the ground in front of her; a dead body, completely hollowed. She had to hold her arms up defensively at the roof, but when the shock had settled she found herself staring at a knight who looked back at her, speechless, and gave her a little nod. She immediately recognized the shape of the helmet; it was a knight of Astora, her homeland. Their exchange was short as the knight pulled himself away from the hole and vanished from her sight.

When she mustered up the strength and will to examine the body she found a key. It was old and rusted over, but the size of it seemed just fit for the door to the cell.

Without hesitation, she pushed it into the keyhole and gasped in relief as she felt the door swing open with a gentle turn of the key. Freedom, at last.

She began making her way down the torch-lit corridor in search for an exit when she realized that many others had been released too. Most of them weren't as fortunate as she was, judging by their hollowed looks, and they seemed to be struggling with retaining their sanity as they held their heads in torment and wandered aimlessly around the perimeter. There was no aggression for the moment, but she did not let down her guard.

A hollow came up to her and grabbed her by her bare arm in a pleading motion as it tried to pull her backwards, but she knocked herself free from its grasp and continued onward. She kept herself alarmed and searched for anything she could wear, since all she had on her was a tattered dress that looked like it would turn to dust at any time.

At the end of the corridor she came upon a flight of stairs leading up. When she ascended to the top she found herself in a room with a hollow sitting in the middle of a pool of shallow water.

" _Never leave…_ " The hollow spoke in a ghosty voice, " _Never leave…_ " It repeated the words on and on.

As she was about to leave the poor thing alone, the hollow turned to her and spoke in a loud, paranoid voice. " _It will kill you! You will die! You can never leave…"_

She looked back at it with a concerned expression as she continued walking. Now there was a ladder instead of stairs in front of her. The voice of the hollow echoed in this small, cylinder chamber as she made her way up the ladder before it died out with the rest of the hollowed moans.

A fresh breath of air greeted her as she climbed out of that dungeon. She passed a doorway and found herself in a courtyard. Before her were what looked like an iron, twisted sword stuck in a pile of ashes. She approached the pile carefully because she could hear a distant heavy footstep coming from somewhere above her.

To her surprise, the pile of ashes began reacting to her presence as sparks of fire jumped out of the ashes. Curiously she lifted her hand above the coiled sword, and instantly a flame rose from the ashes. It burnt brightly, and a strange comfort enveloped her entire being. The warmth was pleasing on her exposed skin, but she wanted freedom more. After a few seconds of lingering around the bonfire, she left to explore the courtyard with caution.

The search proved fruitless as all the gates were either shut tight or completely destroyed by fallen debris. She turned her attention to the large wooden door in the center of the courtyard and contemplated whether she should try for it or not, but what other options were there?

Defenseless, she looked around her feet and found a sizable rock to hold in case anything happens. With both hands she pushed the doors open with all her might, but what happened immediately after was not what she expected at all.

Inside the doors was a large, rectangular open area filled with debris and bricks and pots. The structure seemed to have broken down quite a bit, but everything else seemed irrelevant when a giant, demonic creature dropped down from the rooftop and began growling at her.

The monster was enormous and held a heavy war mace the size of a stone pillar. It looked like it could easily shatter her bones with a single hit. There wasn't much option left for her but to look for an escape, because if she fought she would surely die.

The demon swung its mace at her and shattered a few pots and the stone pillar she was running behind. Everything crumbled to her feet as she darted her eyes towards the demon to see what it would do for its second attack as she prepared the feeble rock in her hand. A second blow was aimed directly at her, top-down style, as she just barely escaped the crushing, but not without bruising her knees as she dashed and jumped. Given the little time she had, she clumsily threw the rock at the demon's head before hurrying herself towards a doorway nearby. The demon was momentarily distracted by the projectile as she managed to get into the doorway and flip a contraction that sealed the gate shut behind her, leaving her safe from the harassment of that demon, for now.

The demon let out an unsatisfied growl as its heavy footsteps resumed. She had to lean against the wall, after putting some distance between her and the gate, and take a break from the encounter. Her heart raced and adrenaline pumped through her veins, but it wasn't over yet. Instead of questioning herself what that creature was, she steeled herself once more and pressed on with the heavy thought that she might not make it out here alive.

In the room next to a narrow hallway ahead, she finally found a broken shield that could be used for some protection, but it would never stand a chance against that demon's mace. Still, it was better than nothing.

The shield soon proved useful as she used it to take down an archer that had gone hollow. A strong blow to its head was enough to knock it out completely. She wasn't born a fighter, but she has had her fair share of training in her distant homeland of Astora.

It was her dream to become an elite knight in life, but the picture she had imagined wasn't quite a girl in tattered dress and a flimsy wooden shield. Her thoughts turned back to the mysterious knight who freed her earlier and wondered if he was still around, trying to find a way out, too.

At any rate, she must push through the difficulties in front of her alone, but it would be a lot easier, now that she looted some leftover arrows from the late archer. Archery wasn't her forte, so as ridiculous as it might have been, she relied on the arrows for melee combat for the moment.

When she cleared the path and found herself up on the second floor of this building, she heard a weak moan and found herself staring directly at the knight in Astoran armor on the otherside of a collapsed cell door.

"Hey! Are you alright?" She asked, to which the knight only turned to look at her. His arm was resting on his stomach, but from this distance she couldn't make out whether he was injured or just resting.

"There's… no way in here. Just go." He answered, the pain he was suffering evident in his voice.

"Hang on in there, I will find a way." She insisted and circled around the outer wall. There was no way she'd leave a fellow Astoran to die, much less her savior.

Disappointingly, there was indeed no way into the cell he rested in, other than the collapsed door seen earlier. She put her hand on the stone wall and felt around it for moving parts, but after surveying she concluded that any attempt of trying to break the wall would be foolish, at least with her pathetic arsenal.

If she could "borrow" the giant mace the demon had, perhaps she'd stand a chance at helping him out.

 _But how did he get in there in the first place? He was on the roof…._

She was still in search for a plausible solution when something was released behind her and moved down the stairs towards her. The sound of stones cracking caused her to turn back just in time to move herself out of the way of a rolling iron ball. She held her shield up as a hollow charged down immediately after to attack her. It used a broken sword hilt to slash at her feverishly, but her precise stabs with the arrow proved more efficient in combat as she fell the hollow with just a few well-placed thrusts.

Remembering the iron ball, she turned to see a hole in the wall behind her. Quickly she stepped into the secluded cell and brought herself near the fallen knight.

His head hung low as she approached him, but immediately rose his sword in defense when she came close, only to relax when he saw it was her.

"Oh, you. You're no hollow, hm?" His joked lightly, and she could tell he smiled.

"The ball surprised me, to be honest, but I was lucky." She replied and knelt down beside him to silently check his body for blood and wounds.

"I thought you'd perished. Thank goodness." He let out a sigh and tried to sit up a bit, only to be discouraged by the punishment of pain. "I'm done for, I'm afraid…" he told her as he bit back a moan.

"What's your name?" She asked him gently, brows furrowing in empathy as she watched his suffering helplessly.

"I am Oscar of Astora." He answered weakly, "I too, was sent here after turning undead. I was able to escape, but now…" his voice trailed off into a cough which he tried to suppress. "Damned demon got the best of me."

After taking a look at where he was, it would appear that Oscar had fallen through the roof into this place, which would explain the lack of a conventional entrance.

He paused for a moment before asking back, "You?"

"I am Aelis of Astora." She smiled at him and continued, "I was to become a knight before I turned undead."

"Well, from one knight to another… I must look like a terrible example right now." He chuckled but was quickly interrupted by coughing.

"Listen, I wish to ask something of you… as a fellow Astoran, hear me out, will you?" Oscar let out a sigh of relief as she nodded. There was a melancholy in his voice and she simply couldn't refuse.

"Regrettably, I have failed in my mission… but perhaps youcan keep the torch lit. There is an old saying in my family… _Thou who art undead, art chosen. In thine exodus from the Undead Asylum, maketh pilgrimage to the land of Ancient Lords. When thou ringeth the Bell of Awakening, the fate of the Undead thou shalt know._ " He recited the passage in his deep and smooth voice effortlessly, as if it had been his creed for life.

Aelis silently repeated his words and tried to interpret the passage in between his captivating voice, but she was as clueless as a newborn. She understood what tasks he wanted to do, however, but she couldn't help thinking he was passing on a great responsibility onto her shoulders.

"Well, now you know… and I can die with hope in my heart." He finished and reached for a strange bottle filled with some kind of orange liquid, but before he could he was interrupted by Aelis.

"Wait!"

Aelis remembered that humanity might be able to help mend one's body as she carefully took out a small pouch she had been hiding in her under garment near her waist. Her movement was gentle as Oscar watched in bewilderment, only to turn his gaze away as her hands lifted the skirt that threatened to fall off her body at any moment. She opened the pouch and held in her palm a dark, writhing being that glowed white.

"Take this, Oscar. It will save you." She beckoned.

Oscar stared at the thing in her palm for a few seconds before politely shaking his head, "I…cannot. It belongs to you."

"And I am offering it to you to save your life."

"My insides are damaged, Aelis… I don't know how long I will last, in which case it would be wise to keep it for yourself." Oscar insisted despite her stubbornness.

"You freed me so at least I won't have to rot in that cell anymore." Aelis said pleadingly, "This is the least I can do for you, even if just to ease the pain."

"Besides, if it does prove more potent, we could band together and defeat that demon who did this to you." She added hopefully, because she really didn't look forward to the prospect of fighting that monstrosity alone.

"I…I suppose you have a fair point." He looked to her and saw that her resolve hadn't faltered, so he took the humanity from her and said, "Thank you." as he tightened his fist and crushed the little thing. The humanity dissolved into a bundle of individual souls and separated as the swarm of souls surrounded his body, finally becoming one with his being. The knight let out a long, elated sigh as his body relaxed, for the pain was no longer.

Aelis watched him with content, glad that she was helpful. "We must help each other if we wish to survive this."

Oscar nodded in agreement as he kept his gaze on the woman before him, still in consideration of what she had done for him.

"You might not realize how gracious your gift was." He sat up and proceeded to stand up and sheath his long sword, at the same time he brought out the orange bottle he was reaching for earlier.

"The rats knew, and I caught on eventually. Why do you think I hid it under my skirt?" She mused at him as he was speechless, perhaps embarrassed by the glimpses of her body that he had seen. "What is that?" she asked as her attention focused on that bottle he held.

"This is an Estus flask, an undead favorite." He explained as he delivered it into her hands. The flask radiated warmth, very much similar to the bonfire that she felt in the courtyard. "It recovers our strength and boosts our spirits. I was going to pass it to you as a parting gift, but now that you've saved my life, not just my body, but my soul as well… I have even less reason to withhold it from you."

Aelis looked at the flask then back at him quizzically as he spoke. "But… if you had this, why didn't you use it?"

"The Estus may mend one's body, but it cannot help the soul. I was slipping… I knew it wouldn't save me from hollowing." Oscar put his hand around hers and let her clutch the flask, he then covered her fingers with his other hand to make sure she knew that the flask was hers to keep. "It was your humanity which prevented that horrible fate, so I thank you, truly."

There was a hint of blush that went across Aelis' cheeks as he said those sincere words. He wasn't a terrible example of a knight at all. Oscar was generous, brave, painfully honest, and most importantly, compassionate.

She withdrew her hand from his and planted a small kiss on the side of his helmet in response. "You're welcome, but our troubles have yet to conclude." She said as she carefully tied the Estus flask to her waist with the help of the leather strips that served as a belt.

"Yes. The asylum demon would prove a formidable foe. It also has in its possession the key to the main gate, which would lead us to freedom." Oscar said solemnly. "Unfortunately, there is no way to get to the roof from where we are, and the height would only kill us on impact, should we try to escape without using the main gate."

Aelis listened and added, "Then we would fight our way out, it seems."

The two then got out of the cell and ascended up the stairs which the iron ball rolled off of only to be met with a locked gate. Oscar reached for a key hung from his waist and opened the door like magic as Aelis watched with an amused expression.

"Just _what_ key don't you have?"

The knight shrugged and said with a hearty laugh, "Well, I believe you know the answer to that one."

They walked forward and found more debris and a balcony from which they could spot the road just outside the main gate leading up to a hill. There were ruins all over the hillside, yet they could see nothing beyond where the road ended.

Before the two could exchange their observations, a guttural groan came from their flank as a dagger holding hollow rushed towards Oscar.

"Watch out!" Aelis yelled and readied herself for counter attack. As Oscar blocked the hollow's initial strike, it recoiled from the impact against Oscar's sturdy shield and that gave Aelis the chance to land a critical strike with her arrow, straight through the side of hollow's head and out from the other.

Aelis was trying hard to pull the arrow out, but the poor thing snapped from excessive force and left Aelis weaponless for the moment. She spotted the dagger in the fallen hollow's hand and bent down to reach for it when Oscar stepped next to her to block what would have been an arrow in her back for her.

After she readied herself to fight again, Oscar had already taken care of the archer who shoot the cold arrow at her with his straight sword. He plunged it deep into the hollow's gut and turned it before pulling it out. Blood splashed onto the ground as the hollow lay dead with a thud, its petty souls claimed by Oscar. The knight then turned to shield bash the last hollow hard on its head and sent it to the ground, unconscious.

"What I wouldn't give to have a sword like yours." Aelis sighed and relaxed her posture again as the combat concluded. "A proper shield, too, for that matter."

Oscar glanced at his weapons before replying, "Ah. These were given to me when I graduated as an elite knight, so I'm afraid they hold far too much sentimental value for me to part with. I'm sorry." He sheathed his sword.

Aelis let out a helpless giggle at his words, seeing that he had actually considered parting with his weapons. "Oh, I was only jesting. Of course I wouldn't dare think of taking them away from you; you've earned them through knighthood. And I have yet to prove myself worthy."

"Well from what I've seen thus far, you have showed promising talent. I'm certain that before long, you would be proud amongst the rank of elite knights." He encouraged.

She was reassured by his words and looked at him gratefully. To have the encouragement from an elite knight meant the world to her. "Thank you for your kind words. They mean a lot to me." They exchanged a long look before Aelis continued forward, but Oscar pulled her back with a hush.

Aelis looked back to him, confused, but he only pointed at the broken platform to their left then pointed downwards.

Following his instructions, she caught a glimpse of the giant body of the asylum demon she met earlier, still patrolling the large area beneath them with its terrorizing weapon. Aelis turned to him and whispered loud enough for him to hear, "We'll find a way to get below." as she sneaked her way to the doorway on the other side.

Once inside the room, she found a pair of glowing eyes staring at her as she held up her wooden shield. The eyes moved and from the shadows came an armored hollow with a shield and sword. It looked to be a soldier or knight once. Aelis saw her chance to obtain a full set of protection and readied herself for combat.

Yet the hollow was unlike the others they have seen so far. It didn't just charge recklessly at her, but instead raised its shield and moved about, keeping a distance from her and watched her. Aelis realized that the souls on this hollow was so strong that even after hollowing, it still retained the ability for strategic combat.

So the duel began, or at least to Aelis it did, before Oscar came into the room and the sound of his sword unsheathing rang.

"Let me, Oscar." She requested while keeping her eyes at her opponent. "It's between me and this nameless soldier."

Realizing her resolve, Oscar respectfully put away his sword and watched the two in silence as the duel played out.

Aelis was the one to get impatient first as she kept the shield in front of her to thrust her dagger forward at the soldier in a taunting motion. The soldier kept his guard and followed her steps as she strafed around him. The two made a semicircle around each other before the soldier suddenly quick stepped to the side to strike a blow at her shoulder. Surprised by his agility, Aelis barely blocked the blow but her shield ate the impact and splintered. Repositioning herself she cursed the fact that her dagger was far too short to out poke the soldier's sword and if she wanted to wound him, she must change her tactics.

Another attack took place as the soldier utilized the advantage of his weapon to harass Aelis with another threatening blow from below. He aimed to strike her belly but Aelis moved her shield just in time to deflect the attack, saving her own skin for a second time. Throughout this, Oscar always had his hand on the handle of his sword, preparing to draw it should the situation take a step in the bad direction.

He had faith in her, of course, but the chivalry in him refused to see any harm done to Aelis.

The sparring soon came to an abrupt end as the confident hollow let down his guard for an over-head attack, only to watch Aelis drop her splintered shield and hold the dagger with both hands in a forward roll to dodge the attack. She pushed the dagger deep into the knight's body as she let go of it and stumbled backwards to see the lights in his eyes go out and his body fall to the floor.

Oscar moved his hand away from the sword and nodded at her in recognition. She took her time taking deep breathes before rising to her feet again to announce her victory at Oscar with a smile.

"I knew you had talent." He commented calmly. "And now you have a set of armor and weapons which would aid us in the coming battle."

Aelis was already in the process of stripping the dead and donning the armor. The pieces were rusted and dented in places, but they could still take some beating, unlike her dress. When she was done, she picked up the board sword and the equally rusty metal shield. She pulled the dagger out of the body and kept it for good measure.

"How do I look?" She asked jokingly after she finished.

It was difficult to tell how Oscar felt with his face obscured by the helmet, but from the tone of his voice Aelis figured he found her look amusing. "The best I had seen in quite a while." He answered honestly as he took in her bright blue eyes and hints of golden hair coming out beneath her new helmet.

"Let's go fight a demon, then."

There was no way to get downstairs to the courtyard from this room, so they turned around and began back-tracking. They took another brief pause at the platform overlooking the demon as the two watched the demon move. Distracted by a growl from the demon, they failed to hear the hollow that rose up behind them, which was the one that Oscar knocked unconscious earlier in fight. The hollow approached Aelis from behind and pushed itself onto her.

The sudden force knocked Aelis off her balance as she slipped off the edge of the platform and fell to the area below. She let out a short scream before she hit the demon's back and rolled off it to the floor. Oscar tensed up as he watched her fall and didn't think twice before drawing his sword and leaping off the platform to perform a plunge attack on the demon to distract it from Aelis.

He landed on the demon with his sword, making a solid connection and buried it hilt deep into the creatures flesh. The demon howled in agony and immediately shook its body violently to fling him off. Oscar used all his might to pull out the sword just before losing balance and roll landed safely on the ground nearby. He immediately looked for Aelis, whom he found moaning on the ground in pain and shock, and poised himself as he taunted the demon away from her.

"I'm not dead yet, you bastard." He said as he made a loud clang with his sword on his shield.

The demon recovered from the backstab and turned to face Oscar. It roared at him furiously as if recognized him as the one on the roof and swung its mace with murderous intention.

Aelis' head was spinning from the fall but the heavy steps of the demon that shook the ground told her she should get moving. The hollow that assaulted her was flattened in a flash as the demon stampeded towards Oscar in fury. She hurried herself and got up so she could join Oscar in the attack.

The demon swung the mace left and right and knocked over and shattered many pots that laid around but Oscar was nimble enough to remain untouched. However, the demon was pushing him into a corner and Oscar realized that he had nowhere else to run safely. He then saw Aelis coming up behind the demon as she let out a battle cry and struck at the demon's feet. This momentarily disrupted the demon advance as it lifted its feet in annoyance to stomp, but Aelis dodged it easily.

Oscar made use of the precious time she bought him to close the distance between himself and the demon and left a deep gash in the demon's belly with a two-handed heavy slash. Putrid blood oozed out of the wound as the demon howled again and flapped its wings.

Aelis watched in amazement when the monster began to levitate; she didn't think those relatively small wings could lift such a huge body. Moments later she realized what the demon was about to do, but she was too close to it.

Oscar saw the shadow of the demon looming over her form and rushed to her to push her out of the way at a critical timing. They stared at each other's face before the demon followed up its attack with a quick swing of its mace that bashed Oscar out of her way, sending him flying towards the other end of the arena.

"Oscar!" She felt her heartbeat pause when Oscar remained motionless on the floor, but the demon was already upon her and she had no time to hesitate.

She saw the demon hold up the mace and knew that she would be crushed if she didn't move. Putting her thoughts of Oscar aside for the time being, she focused her entirety on the combat before her. Dashing away from the crushing blow, she found herself around and behind the demon. Once again she struck at its feet to weaken its movement and gain herself more edge, and watched the demon growl in frustration and attempt to grab her.

She made sure there was safe distance between them and Oscar before beginning her next round of assault as the demon turned to face her once more. Making quick shifts to the side, Aelis realized that as long as she could dodge the demon's close attacks, then she would eventually wear it out and slay it. She kept her eyes on the demon's head to check its orientation and spent the rest of her attention maintaining a good footing. She planned to cripple it slowly by attacking its feet repeatedly.

Having had enough of her pesting, the demon changed its attack and brought the mace down to the right side of its body and began to sweep it in a fan motion in front. Realizing that it would hit her, Aelis was forced to move to the left of the demon to avoid the blow, only to run straight into the demon's grasp waiting for her.

She frantically slashed her sword around, hoping to hurt the demon's hand, but it responded with such a tight squeeze that pushed all air out of her lungs, leaving her gasping and unable to breathe. She was lifted until she could stare into the demon's vicious eyes.

Just as she thought the end was upon her, the demon surprisingly loosened its grasp with a pained screech. She didn't know, but the dagger she had kept earlier pricked the demon hard as it tried to squeeze the life out of her. The demon was about to drop her when Aelis saw the opportunity and, with a kick against its palm, she flew out of the demons hand with a pointed sword and straight into one of its eyes.

She held onto the sword for dear life as she felt the demon shook in agony and shock. With her eyes closed she prayed that she won't die immediately.

The demon stood convulsing for a brief moment as a heavy stream of blood and what looked like tissue matter came out of its destroyed eye before everything stopped and the demon fell backwards onto the floor. Aelis was slammed against its disgusting skin and waited for a moment in case it wasn't fully dead. After making sure it was over, she stood up above it and pulled the broad sword out of its bloody eye socket and got off of the lump.

She hurried over to Oscar and dropped her weapon. Her heartbeat was loud enough to drum against her ears painfully but she did not care. Lifting his head up to rest on her lap she held back tears seeing the dreadful dent the demon's blow created on his helmet, afraid of what she would see should she take it off him.

"Oscar?" She asked with a trembling voice, but he did not respond.

Removing his helmet, she gulped when she saw his half-bloodied face. His blonde short hair was colored crimson by wet blood and his jaw was knocked out of place.

She moved her fingers to feel for his pulse and was relieved when there was a slight beat. She reached for the flask that hung on her waist and felt grateful that it survived the turmoil earlier as the orange liquid remain intact within.

"Oscar, can you hear me? You must drink this." She elevated his head and raised the flask to his swollen, bloody lips. Carefully she poured its content into his mouth and watched as the bump in his throat moved. She paused for fear of choking him, then resumed to empty the remainder into him.

Afterwards, she put the flask away and simply held him in her arms. "I'm sorry… I was careless. I made this happen." She said gently as she caressed him, hoping that the Estus would take its effect on him.

Miraculously, his body began to glow. Aelis watched with pleasant surprise as his face began to clear up as blood was absorbed and fractured bones were mended. Within seconds, he looked like as if he were never hurt at all.

When she stared into his blue eyes for the first time, she had tears of joy in her own. His features fit surprisingly well with how she imagined he would look; masculine yet gentle details that reflected his personality. There were inner strength in his eyes, she could tell they belonged to a knight hardened by combat. Oscar was speechless for a moment before he asked her, "How bad do I look?" with that familiar, captivating voice of his.

Aelis held back a sound that was going to be an odd mixture of a giggle and a sob and answered, "Much better now."

And for the first time, she saw his smile. It was warmer than she thought, almost like a bonfire. She couldn't help herself as a rush of varying emotions took over her heart; at that moment, he was her savior, her mentor, her companion, and more. She leaned down and kissed him on his lips.

Feeling her lips upon his suddenly, Oscar responded by lifting himself up and meeting her kiss and deepening it as he held the back of her neck gently. Their kiss began as expression of joy but evolved into something more as they both felt the other's reluctance to stop here.

His positive response made her blush wildly and to make matters worse, he began taking the initiative. When he realized his hand was on her inner thigh, he broke their kiss and stared at her with concern.

"Aelis, I haven't done this in a long time."

"Nor have I, but I want you." She replied sincerely, and the look in her eyes confirmed her desire. "I want you, Oscar." She had felt attraction towards him when she first heard his voice, but such minor feelings were easily defeated in the face of survival hardship. Now however, as they were both released from the fear of death and imprisonment with the fall of the demon, they allowed themselves to open their hearts to one another and let the suppressed feelings roam free. The relief they both had when realizing the other felt the same only grew their passion.

Hesitating no more, Oscar began removing his gauntlets as he resumed kissing her and freed his hands first so he wouldn't scrape her skin in the process of undressing her. He let her nimble hands work their way around his armor pieces as he undid hers. With each piece that had to be removed overhead, they would reluctantly break their kiss briefly only to lock their lips again after. When she was only wearing her tattered skirt again, he slid his hand from her delicate neck to her collarbone, then to the form of her breast on the fabric. He only applied the slightest pressure when she felt lower body burn with want.

But he didn't stop there, as he deftly slid his hand into the now falling skirt and felt her soft breast in his palm. He got hard when her nipples responded to his touch and when he heard her quiet moan. Reciprocating his gestures, Aelis let her own hand feel its way into his pants and gasped into his kiss when she held his hardness warm in her hand. Oscar shivered when she touched him and moved his hips lightly to thrust into her hand, just to give her a hint of what's to come. His movement almost drove Aelis mad, she must have him now, must feel him inside her right now.

As if knowing her condition, Oscar slowly laid her down with one arm around her back as the other made its way down to her underwear. Aelis felt this and her body stiffened as she held back her breath to enjoy the small yet amazing sensations he brought her. When he caressed her through the underwear however, she felt her body respond in electric waves of excitement and even more lubrication beneath his touch. Her body was on fire, and the cold floor did not bother her one bit.

He kissed her long as he moved his fingers around the rim of her underwear and brushed against her sensitive parts teasingly. He groaned when he found out how much she wanted him by dipping a finger inside her.

"Oscar…" She said, almost a whimper.

"I'm coming, my love." He promised and drew his hand away to pull down her underwear and slide it off her slender legs. He stood up to remove his own pants quickly before eagerly returning to the warm aura around her body, letting her hold onto him as he positioned himself over her.

Staring down at her, Oscar was enthralled by how beautiful she looked, even more so with the knowledge that she just came out of a fight for the both of them, victorious. Her long golden hair, although tangled and covered in dirt and blood, was so endearing that he had a thought of cutting a little off to carry with him always.

He lowered his head to kiss her ear and her neck as he teased her with his tip resting against her wet entrance. She bit back a moan and closed her eyes, muttering his name pleadingly still. Oscar had also reached the limit of his patience, as he placed a hand beneath her lower back and bucked her body against his and pushed himself slowly and gently inside her.

"Ah…" she moaned in satisfaction as he filled her up slowly and wrapped her legs around his waist, encouraging him to go deeper. Oscar also let out an exhilarating sigh as he felt her tightness around him, and sank himself even further into her. His movement began to quicken, when he felt her walls tighten up in response. She was so wet and warm and it took a great deal of will for Oscar to hold himself back.

Their sweet release of desire soon turned lustful when she began moaning his name out loud and begging him for more. She could feel a small flow of fluid running down her skin with each of his thrust. He gladly obliged her wishes and hurled her onto his laps and spread her legs apart as he fucked her sitting. She held onto his strong shoulders and lost herself in the rush of pleasure every time her thigh slapped against his, and each time he brought her down on his length she felt him deeper and harder than the last.

"Oscar… I…" Her words trailed off, unable to focus on thoughts, but her expression told the tale. Oscar knew she was close, and he was, too. Their bodies intertwined as Aelis arched her back so that she could feel as much of his body as possible, allowing her to rub her clit against his skin for even more stimulation. Seeing that she needed a little help to cross her limit, Oscar began planting butterfly kisses on her neck and gently coaxed her with the voice she loved so much while keeping up his pace and meeting her every desire.

"Come with me, Aelis… Be mine, because I am yours."

Then he felt her moan out loud, her walls contracted and squeezed his length with an overwhelming sensation that pushed him towards release too, as he moaned with her and cummed deep inside her. Her hands clutched him tightly and all muscles on her body tensed up as she came on top of him. Aelis continued to rock herself against him as waves after waves of pleasure threatened to knock her out purely from how _good_ it felt to have him inside her as he pulsed and filled her with his love.

When both of them rode out the ecstasy, Oscar caught her with his arm and lowered her head so she could rest on his shoulder and held her tightly. For a moment, neither of them realized that it was over and both were still panting from the rapture.

"Oscar." She mewled at him.

He helped her lift herself off him and continued holding her in his arms, eyes watching her fondly and hand caressing her slightly damp face. He said nothing and waited for her to go on.

When she parted her lips again, she confessed to him, "I think I am in love with you." Despite having just orgasmed, she looked very calm and serious when she uttered those words.

Oscar, smiling back at her confession, replied, "And I love you, too." He gave her another sweet kiss and watched her expression brighten up. "You have saved my life and my soul more than once on this day."

Aelis chuckled and turned her head to look over at their scattered armor pieces and weaponry before turning her gaze back at him again. "And you have mine, Oscar."

A new found bond strengthened their connection as they laced their fingers together and enjoyed one another's warmth. They rested like this for however long they wished before getting up and getting dressed again. They went over to the cold and stiff body of the demon and looted the key to the main gate as they set themselves free.

After a short walk, they arrived at the end of the road on a hill. There was nothing save for an extraordinarily large bird's nest in front of them. Aelis went forward and examined it curiously, but suddenly the wind around her changed and something appeared from beneath the cliff.

An enormous raven flew up and stretched open its talons at her as it grabbed her swiftly. Panicking, Aelis looked back at Oscar and yelled at the top of her lungs.

"Oscar!" She watched him beneath her, uncertain if the bird would drop her or not.

He waved back at her, and she saw on his face a complicated expression.

"We will meet again, Aelis!" He yelled back as the raven began departing from him, "I will be there, I promise!"

The raven flapped its wings and went higher and higher, until a gale carried it away towards a distant land, the land of ancient lords, so that she may begin her quest as an undead.

Watching the raven take her away broke his heart, for he did not know if they would meet again in the near future.

 _Because_ _they are amidst strange beings, in a strange land._ _The flow of time itself is convoluted; with heroes centuries old phasing in and out._ _The very fabric wavers, and relations shift and obscure._

 _There's no telling how much longer her world and his will remain in contact, but he knew deep in his heart that they will meet again._


	2. Chapter 2: Undead Burg

**DEAR READERS:** So I've decided to keep writing and see where the story goes. This chapter contains **graphic description of violence and non-consensual sex** near the end of the chapter, so if you would feel uncomfortable reading that, please skip ahead. I will place borders indicating where it starts and stops. Thank you for understanding. Please leave a review if you are enjoying the story so far!

2.

It felt like forever since their separation and with every bonfire she lit along the way, she thought of him. The road through the undead burg was not an easy one. More powerful soldiers and demons have blocked her way, and even a drake appeared to test her resolve.

A knight at the place called Firelink Shrine told Aelis about the dangers ahead of her and spoke in such a depressing tone that almost made Aelis want to give up. She pointed out the err of his ways and kept Oscar's words close to her heart. As an undead, there was no place to go to, no place to call home, and the only thing that's making her press on was the purpose Oscar had given her, and the hope of seeing him once more. The rest of the story would be told in blood and steel.

She managed herself past the hulking Taurus demon with great difficulty and decided to take a short break at the balcony ahead to enjoy the sunshine and the nice view before throwing herself back to the adventure. She was halfway down the stairs when she saw a knight in strange armor standing at the edge of the balcony, staring at the skies above.

Aelis approached him relaxed, because he didn't look like a hollow. There were still flesh on his hands that were exposed.

Noticing her presence, the knight turned around and chuckled as he saw her. "Ah, hello. You don't look hollow, far from it."

"I could say the same to you, sir knight." Aelis replied friendly.

"I am Solaire of Astora, an adherent of the Lord of Sunlight." He gave her a nod, to which she responded with a light bow.

"I'm Aelis of Astora, a pleasure to meet you. In these difficult times, nothing warms my heart as much as happening upon a fellow Astoran." She smiled, a short, sweet thought of Oscar crossed her mind, "I assume you are also undead?"

"Yes. I have come to this great land, the birthplace of Lord Gwyn, to seek my very own sun." Solaire answered, but quickly added as he noticed her surprised expression. "…Do you find that strange?... Well, you should!"

Aelis shook her head in hurried denial, "No, no. I was just…."

"No need to hide your reaction. I get that look all the time!" Solaire laughed as she dipped her head in embarrassment.

"A knight who has a purpose is an honorable one." Aelis said after a short pause, "I am no knight myself, but I aspire to become one in this journey. I have been rescued from the undead asylum by a knight named Oscar of Astora, and thus I wish to become his companion, as a way of thanking him, but… as you can see, we have been separated by circumstance, and I have been seeking him since. Perhaps you know of him?"

"Hmm." Solaire pondered her words, "Another Astoran knight? I may have come across the fellow, but my memories elude me. We are amidst strange beings, in a strange land. The flow of time itself is convoluted; with heroes centuries old phasing in and out. The very fabric wavers, and relations shift and obscure. There's no telling how much longer your world and mine will remain in contact."

Aelis' smile dimmed as Solaire went on. So it may be, that her Oscar is standing right beside her, but in another world.

"…but use this," Solaire opened his palm and revealed a small, white soap stone. "to summon one another as spirits and cross the gaps between the worlds, and engage in jolly-cooperation!" His voice ignited a new hope in her.

Seeing that she was hesitant, Solaire took her hand and placed the stone within. "I have another one, do not worry."

"Thank you, Solaire. This is truly unexpected." She examined the soap stone in her hand and held onto it preciously. "Perhaps this will help me find him again."

"Of course, but remember that we are not the only ones engaged in this." Solaire's voice suddenly lowered to a warning, "There are malicious beings prancing about, taking advantage of careless adventurers. You must be careful. But I am a warrior of the sun! Spot my summon signature easily by its brilliant aura. If you miss it, you must be blind, aha!"

He laughed in amusement as Aelis chuckled with him. The knight was nothing short of positive energy, and the conversation had boosted her spirits greatly.

"Now, I will stay behind to gaze at the sun. The sun is a wondrous body, like a magnificent father… if only I could be so grossly incandescent!" He said, admiring the skies.

"If you had been so, then I'd surely be blind by now." Aelis joked and placed the soap stone safely in the pocket she carried. "Thank you so much, for your company, and your gift."

Solaire turned back to her and said with a happy tone, "You are quite welcome. In fact, I believe I've taken a liking to you!" but he quickly apologized when he saw her blush. "Oh dear, I don't mean to embarrass you, I'm sorry. What I meant so say was, I really look forward to your summon."

Aelis nodded and replied to the friendly knight, "It's quite alright. I also look forward to the coming battles with your help. For now, happy sun-viewing!"

He laughed again as she bid him farewell. When she began ascending the stairs once more, his voice abruptly vanished, and as she turned around, he wasn't there anymore. The area was silent and the loneliness crawled up her mind again, but she must keep going.

Back when she had first arrived at the Firelink Shrine, she learned about the importance and attractive property of humanities. Now that she knew her world was open to others, she must prepare for any incident such as an invader showing up with ill intentions. She had collected a handful of humanities from corpses and rats that devoured them, and kept them close to herself in case she happen across someone who needs them again.

Fighting her way through hordes of hollows, she finally arrived at the undead parish. Looking up, she could already see the first bell of awakening hanging high above in the belltower, undisturbed. In order to gain access, she must venture into the undead church ahead and navigate herself towards the upper levels.

The fight to get into the church was a rather nasty one for her, as she had to face off several knights alone. The chief among those hollowed knights were a particular strong and tall one, who carried a mace and a greatshield. Their formation was menacing, and Aelis would have been beaten to death if it weren't for Oscar's Estus flask. With her careful planning and positioning, she was able to bring down the lesser knights one by one until only the tall one remained.

Having fought even larger opponents before, Aelis was confident in her ability to take down this knight, but she vastly underestimated the hollow's agility. His struck with both his mace and his greatshield, making him a threat from either side. She gritted her teeth in frustration as his guard was practically unbreakable.

But Aelis learned a few new tricks on her way here, too. She watched the knight carefully as he began swinging his mace at her once more, and with a well-timed parry, she deflected his blow and pushed his arm out of the way.

With the small open window she had to attack, she thrusted her sword straight into the knight's chest and finished him off with a vertical slash. As he fell, she checked the flask again but was disappointed to find that she had used up all of the Estus.

There were no bonfire that she could see in the immediate vicinity, therefore she had to proceed even more cautiously.

Once inside the church, she felt a holy presence envelope her. Snapping herself out of it, she realized that it was a soul that quietly glowed in the dark that created this presence. It wasn't just any soul, however, it was a firekeeper soul.

Dropping to her kneels in front of it, she took the ethereal thing into her hands and spent a minute just gazing at it. Hundreds of humanity created a cosmos of souls that called out for her, tempting her to consume them all. Aelis put the soul away and banished the thought, somewhat disgusted by her temptation. The soul belonged to the bonfire, not her.

However, having it in her possession only meant increased aggression from those long lost hollows as they hungered for any scrap of soul they could find. Immediately she heard unrest from the second floor of the church and noticed a man, or creature that looked like a priest, holding a trident in his hand. A collective moan of hollows could also be heard, so Aelis now seriously reconsidered her alternatives.

Instead of venturing up, she walked towards the platforms that looked like elevators and stood on one of them. The platform began to sink, and soon the chains moved and brought her down. When she arrived at the bottom, she recognized the place to be just behind Firelink Shrine, and was secretly thankful that she had discovered this little shortcut. It was about time for her to take a break from combat, and she gladly threw herself at the bonfire and said hello to the crestfallen one.

It was almost night fall, and everything darkened as Firelink Shrine became the only beacon in the ruined wilderness. The crestfallen warrior saw Aelis and rose an eyebrow at her greeting.

"Well well, welcome back. I saw where you came from, does that mean you've actually managed to repair the elevator to the church? I am impressed." He said with his usual cynical tone.

"Yes, in fact." Aelis sat next to the bonfire and brought out her flask to refill it. "It was a long journey, and I am weary."

"Well, I don't blame you; we all hollow in the end." He said nonchalantly, "How goes your little hide and seek with your friend?"

Aelis' eyes wandered to the pocket where she kept the soap stone and said, "I'm afraid I haven't found him yet, but soon I shall."

"Sometimes the corpses are devoured by rats till the bones." He remarked insensitively and it irritated Aelis greatly.

"He is not dead." She stated firmly, because she knew it in her heart. "Our worlds have yet to converge, unlike you and I. Now, if you would excuse me." She stood up with a full flask and walked away from the depressive man to greet the firekeeper downstairs.

The light-haired maiden sat in her jail, speechless as usual. She only lifted her head when Aelis came close.

"Dear firekeeper, I have found a soul of one of your sisters. Here." Aelis took the soul out of its sanctuary in her pocket and handed it over through the bars. The keeper reached out her arms and received the glowing soul with great care and looked at Aelis appreciatively.

"I believe with you, it would be in better hands. My journey is full of perils to come, and such soul is too precious to be lost should anything happen to me." Aelis continued and smiled at the mute firekeeper.

The keeper brought the soul close to her chest and absorbed it into her body as she held out her hand, focused on something. Moments later, she relaxed herself again and gave Aelis a gentle nod before returning to her meditation.

Aelis bid her goodnight and farewell and climbed up the stairs again. Then, she immediately noticed how much brighter the bonfire was burning. The crestfallen also had his gaze on the bonfire, but soon turned his head away in disinterest. Aelis sat down next to the brighter flames and felt it invigorate her more potently than before.

It was then she saw a faint shimmer across her, a ghostly figure. The light of the bonfire bounced off his helmet and outlined his form. It was Oscar.

Aelis reached her hand out to him as he seemed to have noticed her too, reaching his hand for hers, but before they could connect, his image had dispersed and there was nothing but thin air in front of her.

She dropped her arm but her eyes were wet with tears of joy. How she had missed him… the fact that their worlds finally intersected here strengthened her belief that she would see him and feel him again soon.

The undead didn't need sleep, but that night she managed to score herself a nice little nap next to the bonfire. Whatever comes in the following morning, she was prepared for it.

The next day, she made use of the elevator and cleaned up the undead church of the remaining hollows. As she explored the grounds of the church, she came across a hidden chamber behind a giant wooden blockade.

Curiously she knocked it down and raised her shield. There were no enemies, but only a flight of stairs. She followed the stairs up and found a golden knight sitting behind a jail cell.

"Oh? Still human, are you?" The knight said, surprised by her presence.

"I am trying very hard." Aelis replied.

"Then I am in luck. Could you help me?... as you can see, I am stuck, without recourse." His voice sounded sincere enough, but Aelis couldn't help wondering, why was a knight doing locked behind bars?

"How did you get in here in the first place?" She asked in precaution.

The knight snorted and began, "Well… I was on a mission to fulfill my duty when a group of mindless hollows grabbed me and left me here to rot. Please, this is _very important_ to me, and I will reward you handsomely."

Still suspicious of his explanation, Aelis remembered that she did have a key that hadn't been used thus far. There was a good chance that the key belonged to this cell, however, should she free him or not was another thing to consider.

Sensing her hesitation, the knight pressed on, "…Well? I am certain you stand to benefit. I beg of you, milady." He said in his raspy, low voice.

With a sigh, Aelis gave in and thought to herself she wouldn't become a murderer just because she couldn't trust a person enough. She took out the key and as she had expected, the door unlocked.

The golden knight stood up immediately and bowed to her, "Thank you, yes, sincerely. I am knight Lautrec of Carim. I truly appreciate this, and I guarantee a reward, only later." He said politely as he sized Aelis up and down, seemingly estimating her strength.

"You're welcome, knight Lautrec. I am Aelis of Astora, and I'm glad I could be of use." She let out an uneasy smile as she noticed the movement of his helmet.

"Yes… you are _quite useful_ indeed. Now, I must get back to work. Allow me some time to rest, I am _certain_ that we will meet again…" His voice indicated a smirk as he finished, and Aelis wanted nothing more to do with this man. Lautrec made her very, very uneasy.

She said goodbye and continued what she was doing earlier and searched for a way to enter the belltower. Near the other end of the church, she found a ladder that led to the roof of the church. Before the ladder were several glowing signs that beckoned her closer.

In different hand-writing were the names of knights and warriors that shone white, ready for her to summon. She quickly looked from one sign to another looking for the one name that mattered, and after several minutes and several waves of signs had appeared and disappeared, she finally found him.

 _Knight Oscar of Astora._ The sign read, and she immediately touched it and called out to him from the depths of her heart.

Before anything significant happened however, the sign disappeared and Aelis cried out in despair. She continued searching around for his name but they were all foreign.

She thought hope was lost, and so she gathered herself up again and walked towards the only other sign she knew that glowed brilliantly golden. _Knight Solaire of Astora,_ it read, as she touched it and summoned the knight as promised.

The jolly knight formed from the bright letters of the summon sign with his arms stretched up in a Y shape and greeted her happily. "Ah, it is you! Wonderful that you have summoned me, I thank you for that. Now, where are we heading?" His spirit also glowed bright gold like the sign.

"I just saw your sign so I figured I should give it a try. I have no idea why there are so many signs around here." Aelis continued looking around her for Oscar's name, still not giving up.

"Hmm." Solaire looked around the place and gasped, "Oh! You must be careful ahead. On the roof of the church lies two ambushing gargoyles that would destroy anyone who attempt to access the belltower. Trust me, I should know." Solaire laughed.

"Gargoyles, huh…" She repeated after him.

"Yes indeed. In fact I think it's quite a brilliant idea to bring two companions with you. A wise decision!"

"Two?" Aelis thought she had misheard Solaire but a pair of spiritual arms had seized her from behind and turned her around. She let out a gasp when she saw who it was, but her lips had already been occupied by a ghostly yet familiar kiss.

"O-Oh. I see." Solaire commented shyly before turning his gaze elsewhere as the couple kissed.

Oscar stood in front of her in his spiritual form with the visor raised and his face revealed. He parted the kiss and smiled at Aelis; it was a bittersweet smile. "Well, how long has it been? …Glad to see you safe."

"And I you." Aelis replied, "I saw you at the bonfire and I was certain." Her heart was overwhelmed with joy of this reunion, but for the sake of a third party, she chose to not overly demonstrate her affection. She pushed him gently away and watched as he shut and sealed his helmet again.

"You must be in face of a great danger to need two companions at once." Oscar mused as he looked over at Solaire. He made his way to the knight and bowed to him.

"I am Oscar of Astora, a pleasure to meet you. Who might you be?"

Solaire reciprocated the gesture and said, "I am Solaire of Astora, adherent of the Lord of Sunlight. It would seem that our little party is an Astoran-exclusive." He chuckled. "Well, isn't this just the perfect cooperation?"

Aelis watched Oscar with dolled eyes for just a short moment before refocusing her attention on the task at hand, "It may very well be, now that we stand three to two on the gargoyles. They would need a lot more to take all of us down." She concluded and began to ascend the ladder.

"The bell lies just above the tower past the gargoyles." Oscar said and subconsciously glanced at her legs and behind as she went up, "It shouldn't be much problem once we've dealt with them."

The three then entered the doorway to the roof and before they could make it halfway across, a gargoyle came to life and flew down to greet them with a hostile shrill. It had an axe tail and a giant polearm that looked like a halberd in one hand, a small round shield in the other. The creature was large and strong, but with the three of them focusing their attacks they would make short work of this gargoyle.

Oscar took the initiative and charged towards the gargoyle while the other two surrounded it to assist him. The creature was in confusion for a while, undecided on which target to focus, but eventually settled its eyes on Oscar and began its attacks. Aelis was the first to realize that its tail would prove lethal and she directed hers and Solaire's attacks to hacking off the tail.

Oscar was an expert at defending as no matter how much the gargoyle slammed its halberd down on him or swept it across to hit him, he'd always avoid the attack with a good roll or a firm block with his shield.

When Aelis and Solaire managed to sever the gargoyle's tail from its body, the creature wailed in pain and writhed on the ground as its broken tail lie still. A second gargoyle joined the fight as it heard its brother's call and landed on the roof not far from them. It took a deep breath then released a cone of fire from its mouth.

"Careful!" Solaire warned and raised his round shield to prevent himself from being scorched by the flames as the other two did the same. After the waves of flame died down, Solaire went ahead to distract the latter gargoyle as Oscar and Aelis finished off the first one.

Together they worked as one, and before they knew it, the combat was over and all three of them only suffered minor injuries. The three Astorans all enjoyed a good share of souls and relished in the after thrill of the fight.

"Well done, companions!" Solaire gleefully congratulated them, "I am honored to be of service of two astounding Astoran knights. Remember to call upon me again next time. For now, I bid you both farewell." He handed both Aelis and Oscar a medal with a sun face design on it before his form disappeared with a hearty laugh.

Aelis looked longingly to Oscar, knowing that their time was also limited. Her lover came to her and revealed his face once more as the two moved in close to each other. He caught her hand with his and stroked her cheek with the other.

"No need to fret, Aelis." He said softly, "Whenever you see my sign, just call upon me, and I will be there." He pulled her hand towards his lips and kissed the top of her knuckles.

"It's not long enough. This…" She protested helplessly, to which he nodded in agreement.

"It's never long enough, but this is where we stand. I know we will meet again somewhere, one day." He smiled and rubbed her cheek in encouragement, "Perhaps today."

"I hope so." She pulled him close and kissed him one last time. "Stay safe."

"You too." Oscar replied and his form perished in front of her.

Aelis' shoulders sunk as he left and the loneliness struck again, but enough for sulking; She had a bell to ring.

When she returned to Firelink Shrine again, she found Lautrec sitting near the firekeeper cell, playing around with his shotel. The knight looked at her and opened his arms in a welcoming gesture.

"Ahh, hello there. I have your reward. Please, accept it. I'm grateful to you for freeing me." He handed her a piece of medal identical to the one Solaire gave her, on this one was stained with blood.

She took the piece and frowned. Something didn't feel right about this Lautrec.

"What is it? Not enough for you?... Well, let's not be greedy, now." He snorted and waved his shotel about in small circles.

Aelis moved her gaze to him and replied, "There is blood on this medal."

"And…? I had been through combat with it. Are you accusing me of something?" Lautrec's voice lowered threateningly.

Even though Aelis could not see his face, she could feel the evil gaze directed at her. She held her head high and put the medal away and shook her head.

"Good. Good… Someone as pretty as you would know better than to point fingers, now." Lautrec pinched the blade with his fingers and drew them around the crescent shape as if cleaning blood off it. "I'm sure you have more important business to attend to than bantering with me, heh heh heh."

Aelis refused to have any more exchange with him anyway, so she happily walked away to check on the others. In the back of her mind she reminded herself to be on guard around Lautrec, for she had a hunch that he was no kind knight.

Later on, after a good rest, Aelis took some tip from the crestfallen and set out to search for an entrance to Blight town, which would lead her to the second bell of awakening. She knew it was below them, but the crestfallen didn't know much about the specifics. She decided despite her better judgement to go venture and see how far she'd go.

From Firelink Shrine she took an elevator to arrive at the place called New Londo ruins deep beneath. The place was flooded and ghostly apparitions turned her away from advancing deeper into the ruins. She noticed that the place was crawling with hollows that still had a sliver of sanity, but most were like the ones she saw back at the asylum, tormented between the line of hollowing and undeath.

There was another tower that held a set of stairs next to her, and she took the turn to check what's above. To her disappointment, at the top of the tower was a locked gate that none of her keys would fit in. However, there seemed to be a valley just beyond the gate, and perhaps this valley would lead her to Blight town.

"Missing something?" A voice came from behind as she quickly turned around, but before she could see who it was, a sharp pain pierced through her left leg as she limped towards her right. From the corner of her eyes she saw a shotel that hooked into her flesh.

Immediately she reached for her sword, but her hand was caught midway and was pinned to the wall.

She growled furiously as she saw the identity of her attacker. It was Lautrec, and he laughed when he saw her expression.

"My, wouldn't want to mess with you, now." He commented casually and pulled out his other shotel with his free hand and began tracing her jawline with the edge of the crescent.

"I knew you were no good." Aelis spat at him as the pain in her leg burned. "I should have never released you."

* * *

"Oh, that." Lautrec said thoughtfully, "That does deserve a little _extra_ reward now, doesn't it?" He chuckled viciously as the blade drew blood on her neck.

"Agh! Let me go, you bastard!" She cried in pain and attempted to kick him with her good leg. She barely missed him and Lautrec responded to her aggression with his weapon. He dropped his arm and hooked her right leg with his shotel in a quick thrust as the metal went from her under thigh all the way through to her lap. The sharp point of the shotel was coated in blood by the time it broke through her skin. Aelis screamed as she lost her balance due to the excruciating pain in both of her legs, but Lautrec caught her upper body and held her in place against the wall.

"I'm sorry, did I hurt you?" He said calmly and stared down at the pool of blood gathering at her feet, "Let me make it better."

When she saw him pull out a dagger, she began to shiver in fear of what he would do to her. With great force he turned her around and pushed her onto the wall with her back against him. Before she realized what was happening, he pierced the center of her palm with the dagger and made sure the blade had lodged deep and firm into the cracks between the brick wall. Aelis let out an animalistic wail as she couldn't hold back the tears anymore. Her cheek was against the cold stone wall and she could see blood running down her pinned arm.

"Hang in there a moment, darling. Don't give up on me just yet…heh heh." He pulled out a shotel from one of her legs which caused her to jerk in sudden pain and used it to lift the piece of cloth draping over her ass to examine her garment with a sick amusement.

"Leather pants? Well, well…" He chuckled and put his shotel away to pull out another dagger and placed it directly beneath her vulva. Her body immediately froze when she felt the edge of the blade against her most sensitive spot.

"Please… don't…" She cried and begged because the torture was overwhelming. Her survival instincts had kicked in and all she wanted was to flee.

"My goddess told me…" Lautrec leaned close to her ear as he ripped a hole in her pants with a quick slash of the dagger. "…that such a pretty thing like you deserves to feel my love. And I always do as she commands."

Aelis shook her head as best as she could when she felt cool air against her exposed vulva. The next thing she heard was armor falling to the ground. She knew then, what he was going to do, and the realization made her want to kill herself.

"Kill me… please." She whispered under her breath. All of her body's pain seemed to have paled in comparison to the humiliation she's about to go through.

"I _promise_ you. You will feel the sweet relief of death, but first…" He lifted the hand that kept her good arm pinned to the wall and replaced it with the dagger he held mercilessly. With both hands free, he helped her support her own weight with his hands around her waist. His arousal was burning and dripping with desire, and he forced himself inside her with a swift thrust. She let out a sharp gasp as she felt the unwanted warmth penetrate her.

Aelis forced her body against the wall as far as she could, but the pain from her limbs and now her lower body was tearing her apart. Shameful tears flooded her eyes. He felt nothing like Oscar; he brought only pain and blood.

Lautrec grunted as he felt himself inside her extremely tight walls due to her tension and sighed in satisfaction. "Mmm…. Fina did not tell me that you were so, so delicious inside. Hnn."

She desperately tried to cling onto better memories so she could forget about this pain, but her effort was in vain as Lautrec pushed himself deeper into her, forcing her to open to him. With every move she could feel the daggers tear open her palm and sever her muscles. Blood colored both her arms dark red like gloves.

When he finally couldn't go further, he began to ruthlessly fuck her at an inconsiderate speed, only seeking for his own pleasure and release and ignoring whatever pain she was going through. Aelis responded by banging her head onto the wall in hopes of knocking herself out, but her action was stopped when Lautrec seized her hair and pulled her head back.

"Tsk, tsk… No, don't do that. I want you to enjoy every single moment with me. I want you to feel my love… as Fina commands."

"Go rot in hell." Aelis pushed those words from behind her teeth, " _I will kill you_."

Lautrec began to thrust harder and faster at her words as if suddenly invigorated by her tough talk and felt himself approaching orgasm. He pulled at her hair as if threatening to rip it off her scalp. Aelis was solely lubricated by Lautrec's own precum and perhaps some blood due to tearing; the force at which he was pumping into her was hitting her cervix hard and she winced feeling his violation.

Every nerve in her body screamed in pain, but it wasn't over yet. Lautrec then pulled the last shotel out of her leg, which made her cry out again, and placed it around her neck like a scythe while keeping himself busy with pumping into her. Trembling and weak from bloodloss, Aelis felt the cold steel of death on her warm skin and closed her eyes, prepared for what's to come, embraced it, even.

"Now, as promised… mmn… sweet Fina…!" He slit her throat as he felt her body spasm and blood rushed out of her severed vein which made her tighten suddenly and pushed him over the edge. He continued holding her body as he cummed into her load after load, even after the sound of gurgling in her throat had ceased. His cum had filled her and even leaked out of her to mix with the blood beneath their feet. He was completely lost in ecstasy and the thrill of the kill that he did not notice Aelis' body slowly dematerializing. Her soul had shattered and a large portion of it was absorbed by her killer, adding to his pleasure. It was only when the feeling of her tightness around him disappeared that he realized she had passed on.

"Well, I'll see you again some time. Heh heh." He gathered himself soon after and drenched himself in the fresh memory, savoring the after taste of her souls with psychopathic satisfaction.

* * *

When Aelis opened her eyes again, she found herself at the Firelink Shrine bonfire. Immediately she fled the place and into the undead burg, never once looking back at the place that was her sanctuary. She ran and automatically cut through any and all obstacles and foes in her way just to find herself in berserk, hacking away at an already fallen hollow. The other lesser hollows saw the rage and hatred in her eyes and backed away instinctively as she pushed herself onwards.

Her armor and body was healed and repaired magically when she had been reborn, but she could feel it, a deep dark void in her soul where it was once filled with happy thoughts. Something had changed about her as she navigated through the burg absent-mindedly; she was emotionally numb, a part of her still in shock about what happened, and she began to experience a chaos in her mind, the inability to make reason of things. The first step to hollowing.

She looked down at her hands and saw that her skin had shriveled and took on the appearance of a dried corpse. She didn't need a mirror to know that she must have looked terrible. The image of Lautrec's daggers cutting through her palms came to mind and she turned her gaze away with tears in her eyes.

Eventually she wandered near the undead church again where she rang the first bell. She looked up at the structure indifferently then went the opposite way towards a small, ruined tower. She followed the stairs down and found an unkindled bonfire.

Finding rest at last, she hovered her hand over the coiled sword and lit it up. Warmth welcomed her, although not as strong as the Firelink Shrine bonfire, but it still provided respite. She sat down next to the flames and placed her head between her kneecaps to rest.

Her thoughts were empty as the sound of the crackling flame and echo of a blacksmith's hammer occupied her ears. The repetitive noise drilled through her brain as she felt herself losing grasp on her sanity. She must restore her humanity now, or else she would be lost.

Quietly she took out a small sprite from her pocket and crushed it in her fist. After a swarm of souls filled her body, she was human again, and the madness that threatened to consume her receded.

That was when she sobbed into her hands uncontrollably and loudly, finally breaking down. She could feel the pain he had inflicted on her still, and the memories stung. Self-disgust and shame overcame her and she damned herself for being so stupid. Salt water washed her face and dripped from her chin, the only thing she wanted was for someone to be there for her.

 _Oscar…_ She called out silently for him, yearned for him. She needed his shoulders so the burden wouldn't be hers alone; she knew he would understand.

She laid down next to the fire and curled up in fetal position, still sobbing quietly. She let the flames put her to sleep so she didn't have to think.


	3. Chapter 3: Garden and Valley

3.

Oscar had run into trouble with the living trees inside Darkroot garden. He was caught off guard and a pair of conjoined creature with snakeheads attacked him and bit him on his arm. The bite was deep and poisonous, but he managed to disentangle with the creature and slay it.

He wasn't too far into the garden. It was dark and quiet with whispers of wood imps and rustling of leaves and flora. However, without an antidote, he was forced to return to the closest bonfire for a quick rest.

He stepped into the ruins and left the moonlit garden behind him as he came upon the friendly Astoran blacksmith again.

"Ah, hello again. Glad to see you doing fine." The blacksmith named Andre greeted him.

"Thanks to your craft, Andre. I would have perished if it weren't for you. The garden is indeed perilous. I have returned for lack of an antidote." Oscar explained. His skin began to burn slightly as the poison spread.

"The creatures in the garden ooze venom of all kinds. You best bring some moss with ya, if you wish to make it through." Andre informed him, "Sometimes those nasty walking bushes grow some, so make sure to double check once you've taken care of'em."

"Thank you. I will be more careful next time." Oscar nodded at the blacksmith then went up the stairs to the bonfire.

He saw another undead lying next to the bonfire with their back to him and walked close. When he sat down and took off his helmet, he saw her face and let out a big smile.

Aelis was fast asleep, but she opened her eyes in alert when she heard the clangs of his armor. There were fear in her eyes at first, then a sudden calmness, realizing that it was him, then tears in a mix of joy of their worlds finally converging and the terror that she had gone through. She pushed herself onto him and buried her face in his chest as Oscar realized that something was wrong from the subtleties of her expression.

She cried into him and he caressed her head gently, reassuring her that he was there, but her clutch on him only tightened.

"Aelis…" He spoke, lifting her head carefully and saw the red circles around her eyes. "Is everything alright?"

She stared at him speechless for a moment, because she didn't know what to say nor how to say it. She feared that he would hate her for what happened, but a better part of her reassured her that she could trust Oscar completely. After all, she had no one else.

"Oscar… I was…" She swallowed a hard lump in her throat and continued in a trembling voice. "I died… it was terrible…"

His expression softened as he caressed her cheek, "Such fate is inevitable for an undead. I'm glad that you aren't hollowed."

But she had more to say. "The knight named…" she paused as she felt nauseous with even just the mention of his name, "Lautrec… he…"

As she continued the tale, Oscar's expression froze and his body stiffened. He listened silently to the horrors she was put through and the torture… his knuckles turned white as he clenched his fist and his mouth opened in shock and anger. It was unbelievable that anyone could do such thing to another, especially to her.

When Aelis finally stopped and returned to shaking with interrupted sobs in his arms, Oscar had hot blood all over his veins and he wanted to _kill_ Lautrec.

"…I'm so sorry." He told her first, his eyes almost wet from sympathy and love for the woman he cared for. "I should have been there. I should have. Forgive me, Aelis." He held his arms protectively around her and blamed himself for his inability. He felt so much hate and anger, for the first time in his knighthood, that he wanted to paint the walls red with Lautrec's blood and skewer his head on a pike. He would kill him over, and over, and over again, until knight Lautrec was nothing more than a pathetic, hollowed corpse. The honored code of knights wouldn't even have been strong enough to bind him.

Before he could express his thoughts to her, she spoke in a slow and cold voice. "I will _kill_ him, and I will never be so foolish again." Her tears had dried, but her nose was sore and it was still difficult to breathe. Even as she said those vindictive words, a part of her was afraid, of the pain, and the memories. Having Oscar around her as more than a summoned spirit helped her calm down a lot.

He didn't comment on her resolve, knowing that she was more than capable of crushing a vermin like Lautrec, but he did worry, because the man was clearly a psychopath, and sick beyond imagination. Who knows what terrible things he'd do when threatened?

They held each other under the warmth of the bonfire and relished in the time they have with each other. The poison inside Oscar's body had long been cleansed by the magic of the bonfire, but he remained at her side and did not move until she did.

Aelis reached an arm up and caressed his scruffy chin. He looked at her and smiled faintly, thoughts still burdened with her torment. "How are you feeling?" He asked.

"Better now." She answered and let her hand drop to his chest, examining the golden lining and pattern on the tabard he wore. She didn't want to take her eyes off him because she feared that their worlds would disconnect anytime.

"Have you seen Andre, the blacksmith?" He said as he watched her hand go. He figured it was best to take her mind off bad memories.

"No, but I hear him. I should pay him a visit to replace these." She looked down at her mismatching armor, ripped off of nameless hollow soldiers. "You've journeyed far. What lies beyond here?"

"Well," Oscar began and pointed to the bridge to their right outside. "This path leads to Sen's Fortress, which is the only way to reach Anor Londo, but the gates had been sealed shut and none can pass. Below us, past Andre, is the ruined church which leads to the Darkroot garden and to the grave of Sir Artorias."

Aelis pondered a bit and said, "Do you think we can find a way to the second bell through there?"

"I don't know. However, I've heard from other undeads of a connection between Darkroot garden and the Valley of drakes. Dangerous paths, regardless." He adjusted his sitting position slightly to make himself more comfortable, but Aelis was already getting up.

"Well… dwelling here won't take us anywhere. To be honest, I've missed fighting beside you." Her eyes followed him as he stood up as well.

Oscar smiled and teased, "Is that all?" as he leaned in to kiss her.

Aelis' hands reactively sprung up and hold his face in place defensively as she bit her lips, taken aback by her own reaction. He realized what was happening and quickly backed himself away from her face.

"Forgive me, I…" he said with his head low, but Aelis responded by planting a reassuring small kiss on his lips. Even then, Oscar felt her lips shake, and his heart ached for her.

"No, Oscar… that is not all I miss of you… of us, but now is not the time." She said truthfully and gave his cheek an encouraging rub, "You did nothing wrong. I love you, remember that."

He took her hand and kissed it gently as he murmured back, "And I love you."

He let her hand linger in his for a moment before she slid away and readied herself for their adventure.

Downstairs, Andre hammered away at a long sword when the two of them showed up. The old smith beamed at both and paused his work, "Well look who returns. Oh? And with a pretty one." He lowered his head in respect. "I am Andre of Astora, a humble blacksmith. Who might your companion be, Oscar?"

Surprised that Andre had asked him to introduce Aelis, Oscar quickly replied, "Oh, she is Aelis of Astora. We've escaped the asylum together."

"A pleasure to meet you, Andre. Unfortunately as you can see… I have more work for you."

"Bah, tis no problem… as long as you pay me." Andre laughed and said modestly. "Now, how can I be of service?"

With the amount of souls she had, Aelis managed to fetch herself a new set of armor and even a weapon, a real weapon. Granted, the weapon costed her almost everything, but Andre was generous to offer her a discount. Now she had a nice set of knight armor and a polished, beautiful long sword that would last her a long time.

The two left Andre and ventured into the Darkroot garden. On their way they came across many creatures, but with a team so bonded like theirs, no challenge was a challenge big enough… until they came across a seven-headed hydra near the bottom of the garden.

They spotted the monster far above from the cliff side that they walked on and Oscar exclaimed, "A hydra… I thought those were mythical creatures."

"We should be careful to not wander too close to it, lest it starts attacking us." Aelis warned as they descended the hill. Dirt rolled off the edges beneath their light footsteps, the sound might not have stirred the Hydra, but it did wake something else.

"Do you hear that?" Aelis halted herself as a tingling noise filled the air, like wind-bells ringing.

Oscar looked around suspiciously as he took a few stealthy steps ahead, before bursting into a sprint as he spotted something.

Aelis looked confusingly at him and hurried herself to catch up to the knight. She watched him suddenly leap into the air with an unsheathed sword and landing onto a glowing little thing with a crushing blow. The tingling sound stopped as Oscar pulled his sword off of his prey.

"Crystal lizards. They provide useful gems for Andre." Oscar explained shortly as he knelt beside the dead creature and pulled out the dagger on his waist to pry out the various glittering gems on its skin.

Aelis got down beside him and took a closer look at the poor thing. The texture of its skin was something close to dark obsidian, but from how easily Oscar had slain it she would guess it was of lighter material. It had two eyes and a triangular mouth, which was open post-mortem with a pink tongue dangling out of the corner. She immediately felt bad for killing it; it looked kind of cute.

"They are extremely fast and expert ground diggers. Had I not ran, it would have burrowed. Here." He handed her a beautiful gem the size of his fist. She took the piece and began playing around with its facets and lighting. Despite having felt bad for the lizard, she must admit the gem was simply stunning; anyone not blind would have wanted a piece like this.

Oscar finished taking out the rest of the gem on the lizard's corpse and sat back down to join Aelis. "Quite magnificent, aren't they?" He commented and stared at the array of stones in front of him in different sizes and shapes. "Perhaps that's why they've become a rarity, from all those who hunted them." He took a smaller piece of gem and positioned it between them, just about where her collarbones met.

"Perhaps so. Hm?" She noticed his move and stared at him questioningly, although she couldn't tell much of anything with his visor down.

"Nothing." He said casually as he closed his hand around the piece and hid it away in his pocket, pretending what he did was nothing of importance. "Let us continue."

He let her take her pick of the gems and kept the rest. Strange forms emerged as they descended further into the Darkroot basin. Crystal golems roamed the area in considerable numbers and the two had to plan the path to proceed.

"There's a path down here." Aelis pointed it out, a branching from where they stood. It seemed to travel further down into the basin, into nothingness.

"Don't want to fight a Hydra?" Oscar said teasingly as she pinched the weak spot under his armpit in retaliation, making him chuckle.

"No, I'm just curious what's over here, since we already have an idea of what we'd be facing the other way." She replied and watched the golems move around in the distance.

"Alright." Oscar agreed and followed her.

Aelis carefully descended the narrowing passage as she tried to not glance at the nothingness beneath her feet, a misstep would have meant death. She froze when a dark shadow blocked their way.

It was tall and smelled burnt, with a large darkened shield in one hand and a halberd in another. Aelis recognized it as one of the black knights she had encountered before. The knight let out an inhuman shrill at them and charged forward with its halberd pointed. Aelis felt Oscar grab her arm and pulled her up a ramp to avoid being cornered by the knight.

She almost stumbled under his sudden force but managed to get back on her feet and began putting a distance between herself and the black knight with a raised shield. The knight menacingly walked towards them, emanating a sinister aura, and poised itself for combat.

Aelis began circling around the black knight to apply pressure as it responded with rotating ever so slightly towards her, but keeping Oscar in sight. The reach of the halberd kept her at bay while Oscar approached its backside slowly. Sensing pressure from both sides, the knight first thrusted forward with the halberd, forcing Aelis to defend herself, then immediately shoving the other end of the polearm behind, hitting Oscar hard on his shield, inching him towards the edge of a cliff.

Then, in quick succession, the black knight swung its halberd around and slashed at Aelis, aiming to forcefully break her guard. Oscar tried to attack the knight from behind with a strong thrust through its back, but the knight did not fall and instead brought its halberd around towards Oscar, almost cutting into his stomach. Oscar felt the friction of the sharp blade against his chainmail and knew the impact must have bruised him.

Aelis took the chance to bring her long sword from beneath the knight's arm in an upward slash to sever its halberd wielding arm. She was surprised when it worked and the armor dropped to the ground along with the weapon still in the hand's grasp. The black knight screeched, seemingly in pain, and stumbled to his other side due to imbalance. Oscar then walked up to it and bashed away the shield it held to plunge his sword into the knight's chest, piercing its armor and body.

The black knight stared into Oscar's helm before it became limp and dissolved into nothingness. Souls were freed from the slain foe and were shared between the two as they put away their weapons.

"I see you've learn a move or two from me…" Oscar said to her.

"I learn from the best." She smiled back, "Now, let's go see what's really down there."

To their pleasant surprise, there was a bonfire waiting for them just beyond a small cave entrance. They lit it and sat down for a brief rest. Both took off their helmets to let their faces enjoy some air.

"Hey, Oscar?" She started. Her shoulder was touching his and their fingers crossed on the ground.

"Yes?" He said as the fire crackled.

"How long do you think this will last?... Our worlds converging."

"I'm afraid I don't know. Time works in mysterious ways in this land. It could be any moment." He replied honestly, feeling her fingers press into his.

"Sometimes I wonder what the reason of all this is… ringing bells and fulfilling a prophecy. Is there truly one at all?" The question had been bothering her, for as much as she knew, the undead were cursed, and the cursed could only find salvation through discovering the fate of the undead.

Oscar was silent for a moment, then let out a sigh. "To be honest with you, I have the same doubts every now and then. There are many of us, still few, but a handful; why haven't someone broken the curse and put an end to this misery yet? We can't be the first among the cursed… but such is the will of the Gods."

Aelis pondered his words before he began again, "Yet… without this journey, this purpose, I fear I would go hollow. Not from deaths, but the meaningless of existence. So I venture on, because it's the only life I'd ever known; to fight, and obey the Gods' will."

She silently agreed with his words. "So, who were you in life?" she asked smiling. "You've never told me much, and as far as I know, we could have been cousins." She giggled.

Oscar chuckled at her joke. "I was born son of Duke Urian, who was in command of a band of mercenaries in loyalty to the King. My father trained me and my brothers and sisters ever since we could hold a shield. Naturally I became a knight and fought for honor of my homeland and my King, until the day Astora was no more, and I became undead." his voice lowered.

"And… your kin?" Aelis asked carefully, although she already guessed the answer.

Oscar shook his head, "Some perished before they became undead, others hollowed and were never seen again."

She nodded in silence and squeezed his hand. Oscar returned the kind gesture.

"What about you?" He asked.

"I hadn't the fortune to be born nobility, but…" she smiled and played with a loose strand of her blonde hair, "I had always suspected myself to be a bastard of one, because my mother did not have these features. I didn't want to settle as a serf nor a wife, so I picked up a sword. Gods know how right I was, the next thing I knew, I was undead and locked away."

"I would have loved to take you for a wife, but I suspect you'd ask me to spar with you first." Oscar looked at her with a grin.

She blushed under his gaze and laughed embarrassingly, "Well, you'd be correct. But that's a life for another lifetime, I'm afraid." She sighed. Bantering with him made her feel so at ease and she cherished every moment together.

"So? Would you have said yes?" Oscar pressed teasingly.

Aelis raised an eyebrow at him. "You would have to spar with me first."

He leaned over and punched her chest armor playfully, to which she first reacted with a _how dare you_ look before giving his stomach a full blow. Oscar was surprised by how much force she put into her punch before he tackled her down and pinned her to the ground. All was fun and play before Aelis began furiously struggling against his hold, which startled Oscar as he let her go. She immediately threw a big right hook punch with anger and tear-filled eyes and forced him off her. Oscar was confused by her aggression when she sat herself on top of him, and simply punched his chest armor over and over as she cried and sobbed.

"Aelis?" He could still feel the sting of her punch on his face, but he was more concerned about her well-being. "I'm sorry… I…" He began apologizing even though he wasn't sure what exactly he did to trigger such response. He held his arms in front of him and caught her wrists with slight pressure in hope of stopping her from hurting herself.

She stopped punching him when her fists began to hurt and simply draped herself over him and cried. She felt horrible for lashing out at Oscar like this, but she couldn't help it; when he pinned her down, she began to panic and all she could think of was to flee. She remembered being that helpless, trapped with that murderous psychopath, and she hated it. It made her act like this.

Oscar felt her shivering and brought his arms up to hold her. "What was it?" He asked carefully.

"The memories… they…" she began, but couldn't continue.

He held her a little tighter this time, realizing the episode she just went through. "I'm so sorry… are you hurt? Let me see your hand." He found one of her hands and slowly sat himself up, all the while keeping her close to him, afraid to stir her again. He brought her hand between them and patiently undid the gauntlet as she leaned against him.

"Why aren't you angry at me?..." she asked like a child who thought they had done something wrong.

He took off her gauntlet and examined her bruised knuckles with a pained expression. "Why would I?"

"Because… I hurt you." She looked at him guiltily.

He smiled faintly and leaned down to kiss her knuckles, "You're forgiven. I know you are hurting a lot more than this. Forgive me, I did not know." He looked into her eyes understandingly.

Aelis felt tears rush to her eyes again and she closed them and sank her head into his chest again. Like a wounded beast she found her nest in his arms, and there was nowhere else she'd rather be, because he kept her safe.

"…Thank you." She whimpered and put her arms around him in a tight embrace.

"Rest on me if you wish to." His voice calmed her, "I won't go anywhere. I promise."

They snuggled for a while before Oscar helped her fasten her gauntlet again once her hand cleared up. The two then got up and continued with their journey in search of the second bell.

At the end of the cave there was another exit via an elevator. Peeking over the ledge of the elevator hole, it was a long way down and a deadly fall. Fortunately there was a lever nearby, and together they managed to move the old construct and called up the platform.

When they arrived at the bottom, they were greeted by distant roars and movements that belonged to the drakes.

"There it is… the gate to New Londo." Oscar exclaimed in amazement when he saw the giant wooden doors that guarded the city, or, kept something sinister in.

"You know of New Londo?" Aelis asked and he nodded.

"I have heard tales… terrible fate had befallen New Londo. The enemies of the Gods, the Darkwraiths and the abyss had swallowed the city and they threatened to take their rampage outside. Only, before they could do so, the city was flooded in the final effort of containing the spreading abyss." Oscar said solemnly.

"These Darkwraiths, are they beings that fed on humanity?"

"Yes. Their greed knows no end. As every undead naturally sought after humanity, the Darkwraiths only wanted more. So many lives must have…" He stopped and shook his head in silence.

"Come on. We must keep going." She comforted him and the two pressed on.

The drakes were hostile upon noticing their trespassing and moved slowly towards them in a defensive manner. Their scales were azure blue and shiny with occasional electric current running beneath them. Outnumbered, they had to think on their feet.

To their left was a narrow path along the face of the valley that led elsewhere. It was the only way they could run to, so Aelis made a headstart and began running towards the path.

As she turned the corner, a drake surprised her by emerging from its cave and roared into her face, almost making her deaf. Lightning leaked out of the corner of its maw and Aelis knew what was going to happen.

"Run!" She commanded Oscar as she thrusted her sword into the chest of the drake in front of her, causing the creature to cry out loudly. Hot, red bood ran through her gauntlets as she pulled her sword out. Staggered by the attack, the drake couldn't react fast enough to release the electricity it had stored in its mouth. Oscar made it past the drake, almost losing his balance and falling into the valley below, but managed to hug himself against the mountain. The drake stood between them, wounded, but enough a threat.

The other drakes heard the wail of their kin and all turned their heads towards the scene. Together, they marched towards them quickly. It would seem that these drakes were flightless for whatever reason, but Aelis was thankful for it.

"Come quickly!" Oscar said to her as he attacked the wounded drake from behind, jumping onto its back and stabbing his sword into its thorax for the fatal blow. The beast struggled for but a moment before it went limp and Oscar kicked himself off it to grab Aelis.

Rocks rolled off the cliff edge as she stepped close to him. One glance below and she felt blood rushing to her head, threatening to faint her. Together, they relied on each other and quickly followed the trail forward with panicked haste. There was a moment when the thought of coming to a dead-end occurred to both of them, but they ventured on regardless.

After a few dangerous hikes, they found a giant, half corpse of a rotten creature. Weary of the party of drakes behind them, they bolted through the dead being as fast as they could, not realizing that it was, in fact, still living.

Stumbling on one of its claws, Aelis woke the large corpse as it came to life, shaking the ground beneath them. As the two of them dashed away, Aelis saw bile flowing out of its mouth and the ground around it corrupted by what seemed like poison. The undead creature didn't attempt to attack them, instead only vomited out a mix of miasma and poison puddle out of its maw. They ran forward and didn't stop until the sound of the drakes were far, far away.

The valley was vast and dangerous to tread through. After their exciting escape, the two made a brief stop at a natural cave to rest their feet.

The blood of the drake had already dried on Aelis' gauntlet and left a red taint over her reflective armor. She looked to Oscar to see him pushing his visor upwards to breathe.

"That was…" She started, and Oscar answered with a nod.

"Let us hope we never set foot in that place again." He said as he hissed suddenly from pain.

"Are you okay?" Aelis moved closer to him and saw that he held his right arm tightly.

"It's nothing. Some electricity left over on the drake's scale. It's only a cramp, it will pass." He smiled at her as she relaxed.

Letting out a long breath, Aelis sat quietly next to him for a while before a thought occurred to her.

"Oscar, we've been together for a long time now, haven't we?"

"Yes." He replied calmly.

"How are our worlds still… converged? Would you disappear any moment now?" Her expression betrayed her as her brows pulled together in a worried frown.

Oscar let out a sweet smile and said, "I don't think I will disappear so soon, but I am thankful for our time together." He offered her his hand as she took it in hers.

The visor shaded his eyes but Aelis could still feel the warmth radiating from them. How strange times are, that she had been rescued by this nameless Astoran knight and fell in love with him. Sometimes she wondered how this all happened, as if fate had a play in their misery. If only times were different, like she said to him earlier, then they could have enjoyed a different life together. Life of being ordinary couples, life of being human.


End file.
